Written by meg sibal, m.d.

BASED on a landmark federal study three years ago which found that the annual screening of older smokers and former smokers with special low-dose CT scans substantially reduces deaths from lung cancer - plus the fact that lung cancer kills 160,000 Americans a year, accounting for nearly one-third of all cancer deaths and more than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined - the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association last year endorsed such screening; and now, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts who advise the government, has issued recommendations supporting annual screening, says the November 2013 issue of the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter.